The Language of Love
by Kori Bischoff
Summary: *Not being continued* I'm sorry! Hr/D - Hermione needs help in a new class. Draco just happens to be the top student of that class. What is in store for them? Love, what else? I would love you if you reviewed. You do want to be loved, right?
1. I Need Help

Chapter 1- I Need Help  
  
  
  
Hermione Granger would be the first to tell you that Albus Dumbledore was a brilliant wizard. Adding Spanish to the curriculum wasn't one of his better ideas, to say the least. For once in her life, Hermione wasn't the top of her class. Far from it, in fact. Her only hope to even pass the class was to ask help from the only one who truly understood Spanish, Draco Malfoy. This was no easy task in itself. But for Hermione, few things were more important than grades, and pride was not one of them.  
  
She decided to ask him to tutor her when Spanish class was over. That gave her a good 45 minutes to think of a way to get him to help her. She was having a hard time thinking of ways to bribe him. She was willing to pay him, but Christmas was nearing and she needed to save her money. She could offer to help him in one of his classes, but as far as she knew there was nothing he was having trouble in. The only thing she could think of was to be his personal servant. Degrading? Yes, but if it could get her good grades, Hermione was willing.  
  
When she had told Ron and Harry about her plans the night before, they both objected, as was to be expected. They offered to help her, but they were doing little better than her in the class, which she pointed out. She also pointed out that Draco had been acting more civil to all of them since Cedric's death. He liked to talk like he was big and bad, but in all truth he never wanted anyone to actually die. It also might have helped that Hermione and Harry were now prefects, as was Draco. After a long discussion and a fight between Hermione and Ron that consisted of something along the lines of "Fraternizing with the enemy" Harry and Ron finally agreed that if Draco could help Hermione bring up her grades then it was a good idea.   
  
The bell rung and Hermione realized that she had spent the entire 45 minutes thinking about last night's events. 'No wonder I'm doing to bad in this class, I'm not even paying attention,' she thought. Her eye caught sight of the blond Slytherin leaving the classroom and she rushed to catch up with him.  
  
"Hey Draco!" she called.  
  
He turned back to see Hermione. "What?" he drawled. He no longer mocked her or called her names, but that didn't mean he was on friendly terms with the Gryffindor.   
  
"I need help in Spanish. I...I was wondering if you could help me," she stuttered before finally getting her question out. He sure was intimidating.   
  
"You need help in a class?" he asked. He gave a little laugh. 'I knew this was a bad idea,' Hermione thought. When Draco saw the look on Hermione's face he suddenly realized that she wasn't joking, she really did need help. "Oh, you're really serious," he said lamely.   
  
"Of course I am."  
  
A small knot of students was forming around them and only then did they realize that they were blocking the hallway. Draco quickly and swiftly dragged Hermione into the empty Charms classroom.   
  
"What will you do for me?" Draco asked. Hermione's smiled to herself. If he was asking what he could get out of the deal then that meant he was actually considering it.   
  
"I could...uhh...take care of stuff you don't want to do. Like clean your dorm and bring you stuff." Draco laughed.  
  
"Like a servant? I don't think so. I already have a bunch of first-years doing that for me. I would like something more than just servant work from you." He smiled at the thought.  
  
"Such as?" Hermione wasn't so sure she liked the sound of that.  
  
"I'm not sure at the moment. But how about this- I help you with Spanish, my way mind you, and we'll work out the other part of the deal later."  
  
"How do I know you won't make me do something horrible that isn't even worth the help you give me in Spanish?" she asked, a bit worried.  
  
"Do you want my help or not?" Draco said, ignoring her question.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then trust me."   
  
"Fine," Hermione grumbled. Her trusting a Malfoy, it was something she never thought possible. 'I don't like this. I don't like this at all,' thought Hermione, starring out the window.   
  
Draco found himself happy about the fact that Hermione trusted him. No one had trust in him, and here his enemy was, putting her fate in his hands. The feeling in itself was rewarding enough to tutor her. But he would make her pay up later; he was going to make sure of that. Draco knew that if she had known what he was planning as payment she would have never agreed. 'Good thing she doesn't suspect a thing,' he thought. 'And she's supposed to be the smart one.'  
  
He quietly slipped out of the classroom while Hermione was still looking out the window. When she finally looked back to where Draco had been she was surprised to find that he wasn't there. 'Just as well,' she thought. 'I have classes I have to get to.' When she looked at her watch she noticed that she was late for her next class, Potions. She bolted out the door, cursing under her breath.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A/N- What do you think? Will develop into romance later. I'm starting to write again. Yay! Late night studying, swimming trips in the Prefect's bathroom with Draco and his well developed, muscular body and much more ahead. If that thought doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will. More updated possibly tomorrow. I would like to thank my Spanish teacher for boring me so much that I thought up all of this. Don't forget to review! ~Kori 


	2. You Are Very Beautiful

Chapter 2- You Are Very Beautiful  
  
  
  
Snape had already started class when Hermione arrived. She tried to sneak in unnoticed, but Snape didn't miss a beat. "Ms. Granger, arriving late to class is an automatic detention." Her smirked at her misfortune. "I'll be seeing you a eight o-clock," he said. Hermione groaned, this was just what she needed, a detention.   
  
Draco raised his hand. Snape really wanted to get back to class, but knowing Draco he would probably suggest an even more horrible punishment, one that Snape had not thought of yet. This was the sole reason the irritated Potions master called on his most prized pupil. But he did not get what he was looking for. Instead, what Draco said took him completely by surprise.   
  
"But sir, I was going to help Hermione with her homework tonight. And it was I who made her come in late. Wouldn't giving her a warning be sufficient?" Draco pleaded. Snape was about to give a hash `no' but then saw the look on his face. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that Draco had a crush. But no, that was impossible, right? Draco, son of Lucius Malfoy, future Death Eater, hater of Muggle-borns liking Hermione Granger? It was unthinkable. Hermione would never join the dark side, but could she possibly bring Draco back from it? That was just the sort of think their side needed. He vowed he would do anything he could to get the two together.   
  
"Sir?"   
  
Snape was pulled out of his thoughts. He realized that the entire class had their eyes on him, awaiting his verdict. "Fine, Ms. Granger, your detention has been withdrawn, but be aware that I don't accept tardiness. I expect it won't happen again."  
  
"No, sir, it won't," Hermione said, grateful that she no longer had a detention. Everyone knew that Snape's were the worst, though Harry still stood by the fact that his that time with Lockhart was much worse. Hermione looked back to silently thanks Draco, but he kept avoiding her eyes, so she finally gave up and went back to concentrating to Snape, as he was continuing what he was saying before she entered the class.   
  
They made a Worries-Gone potions in class. The potions only lasted for half an hour, but they lifted everyone's sprits. Harry smiled like he hadn't in days. Now that Voldemort was at large he hadn't felt safe in what seemed like forever. Neville was now carefree about Snape breathing down his neck, a fact that Snape himself wasn't too happy about. Quite a few people were now at ease about Hermione and Draco's "study date," as Ron so kindly put it, including Hermione, Draco, Pansy and Ron. It could be said that that day's Potions class was the best they had ever experienced.   
  
After class was adjourned Draco came up to Hermione and said to her, "Meet me in the Slytherin common room at 8:30." Then he lowered his voice and whispered, "The password is dominio. Don't be late." He left before she could ask him why he had stuck up for her during class.   
  
The rest of the day crawled on for Hermione. All she could think about was her plans for the night. She was worried that Draco would realize what a lost cause it all was and give up. Knowing that she was going to be in the Slytherin common room, enemy territory, also didn't help her nerves.   
  
All through dinner Ron and Harry talked about Quidditch, not a subject that interested Hermione much. So instead she read up on the history of Shrinking Spells. Every now and then she would look up and watch Draco quickly look away as Pansy tugged on his arm with a pout on her face. That was odd. Since when did Draco watch her during dinner? Hermione shrugged the thought off and continued reading.   
  
After an hour and 42 minutes of waiting in her common room pretending to read, Hermione decided that it was about time to meet Draco. Being a few minutes early couldn't possible hurt, right? She said goodbye to Harry and Ron and stepped out the portrait hole. She walked to the dungeons and took the long winding corridors to the Slytherin statue and said, "Dominio." The statue moved aside and she climbed the stairs leading to the common room. The second she entered it she felt out of place. It was the opposite of the cozy common room she was used to. It was cold and unwelcoming. Hermione didn't see Draco anywhere so she went up to Blaise and asked where she could find him. Blaise told her that he was probably in his dorm and pointed her the way. Pansy glared at Hermione as she crossed the room to find Draco. 'She's probably jealous that I get to spend time with the 'Great Draco Malfoy',' Hermione thought bitterly.   
  
Hermione climbed the stairs and found the sign that said, "5th Year Boys." She found Draco...with a teddy bear in his arms. She was unable to suppress a small laugh and Draco looked up from where he was sitting on his bed. The second he saw her the teddy bear was stuffed under his bed. Draco was mortified. Hermione continued laughing. "Are you here to work or not?" he asked sharply. "Quit wasting time." She stopped laughing, but the smile on her lips never faded. Draco was clearly trying to mask his broken pride. She wondered briefly if she should tell him that he was doing a horrible job, but she decided against it.   
  
Draco pulled out a small pile of papers and objects and one by one said the words corresponding with the objects. He first handed over a rather big piece of parchment. "Grande," (Large) he said. The word was also written on the paper. Next was a much smaller piece. "Pequeño." (Small) He continued handing over objects for all of the describing words that they had learned. Some were just the words themselves, others were done in sentences. He handed over a picture of Goyle and said, "Goyle es gordo" (Goyle is fat) as well as a picture of himself while saying, "Yo soy guapo." (I am good-looking) The last thing he gave her was a small hand mirror and told her, "Tú eres muy bonita." (You are very beautiful)   
  
At first, Hermione thought he was joking. He couldn't really think that. But when she looked up at him she saw total sincerity in his eyes. Her next conclusion what that he was confused with what he had said. "Bonita...it means..." she trailed off. She couldn't continue.   
  
"Beautiful," he said finishing for her. "Which is what you are." Draco's usually pale cheeks were turning a rosy hue. Hermione felt hers doing the same.   
  
"I...uhh...have to go," Hermione said rising to leave. Draco did the same.  
  
"Take these," he said pushing the objects into her hands. "The images will help the words get stuck in you mind." She took them and left. Draco sat back down on his bed, but not before pulling Stuart, his teddy, out from under his it. 'What the hell were you thinking? Calling a girl like that beautiful. She probably hears it all the time, the last person she wants to hear it from is you. She hates you. The only reason she asked you to help her was because no one else in the class understands it either. Just forget about your feelings for her, they'll never be returned.' Draco spent the rest of the night mentally bashing himself.   
  
Hermione shot out of the Slytherin common room without making eye contact with anyone. The last thing she needed was anyone noticing that she was crying. Once she was into the corridor her steps slowed. She put her back to the wall and slid to the cold floor. Her tears were of joy. No one had ever called her beautiful before. Not even her parents, the people who were supposed to tell you things like that to boost your confidence. She couldn't even remember a time when anyone even called her pretty. Words like 'smart' and 'plain' were always used to describe her, never 'beautiful.' Hermione found that she liked the feeling that someone thought of her as something more than plain.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A/N- I would like to thank Irish Lass, SilverDragon, Jen Drake, Xtreme Nuisance, aunt-rhiannon, and Kaji for reviewing the first chapter of 'The Language of Love.' I hope you enjoyed chapter 2. What'd ya think of Draco with his teddy? The thought came to my mind and I just *had* to add it in. I'm going to Vermont tomorrow, and probably won't be able to update till Saturday or Sunday, but I'l update as soon as possible. Oh, if anyone was wondering, dominio means power. Please review! ~Kori 


	3. You Made Me Feel Special

Chapter 3- You Made Me Feel Special   
  
  
The next day was Saturday and Hermione made sure that she wouldn't see Draco at all during the day. She didn't know what to say to him and she feared awkward conversation if she talked to him. Plus, she was a little worried that he would realize his mistake and tell her that he was wrong, that she wasn't pretty in the least. Hermione wanted to savor the thought that someone thought that she was beautiful.   
  
So she stayed in the Gryffindor common room the whole day, studying the objects Draco had given her and practicing her Spanish. On her face she wore a huge smile that brightened every time she got to the picture of Draco with the words, "Yo soy guapo" written on that back.  
  
Harry and Ron tried to get Hermione to spend time with them. After many failed attempts they left the Gryffindor tower to go play Quidditch. Hermione wasn't upset about it though. She was in no mood to spend time with anyone, not even Harry and Ron. They were great to hang out with if she wanted to be "one of the guys," but today she wanted it to be recognized that she was a girl, one who someone even thought was beautiful. And if she would admit it to herself, she wanted to be a damsel in distress. She wanted to be taken care of. But Hermione knew that she should stop wishing, because it would never happen.   
  
By lunchtime Draco was starting to wonder where Hermione was. She hadn't shown up for breakfast or lunch. He was worried that he was the reason of her absence. `I knew what I did last night was stupid. Now she won't even come to the Great Hall for meals. Great, just-"  
  
"Did you hear me Draco?" Pansy's whiney voice interrupted his thoughts. Draco would have loved to tell her to shut up, but whenever someone treated Pansy badly she went right to her father. And no one wanted to mess with her father, Draco knew this firsthand. So instead of being rude, Draco was polite.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. Can you please repeat it?"   
  
"Well, I heard from Crabbe, who was in the common room at the time, that the Mudblood ran from your dorm *crying* last night." Draco gaped at her. Pansy smiled, knowing that she had his attention. She loved being the first to deliver news. Pansy continued, "So, like I was saying, crongrats! You must have done something really horrible to make her cry, because she's grown immune to most of your insults. You can rarely make her cry anymore. So what I want to know is, what did you do? Maybe I can try it."  
  
Draco ignored the question. `I made her cry? How in the world did I do that? I have to go see her,' Draco swallowed his pride, `and possible apologize for whatever I did. She won't let me continue to tutor her if she's upset with me.' Draco bolted out of the Great Hall leaving Pansy very confused.   
  
It didn't occur to Draco until he was standing in front of the fat Lady that he didn't know the password. So now he had to wait for someone to come along and trick them into letting him in. Knowing it could take a long time he sat down with his back to the wall opposite the portrait. Why anyone would want that ugly woman to guard their common room was beyond Draco, but Gryffindors didn't make to much sense to him anyway.  
  
As it turned out, Draco was in luck. A second year Gryffindor came to the portrait a mere ten minutes after Draco had sat down. Draco figured he would have better luck getting in if he was nice so in a voice as nice as he could muster Draco said to the second year, "Excuse me, but would it be too much to ask to be able to follow you into your common room? There's someone there that I want to talk to."  
  
Being a Gryffindor for good reason the rather small student took one look at the Slytherin patch on Draco's robes and laughed. "There's no way I'm letting you in here. My older sister said that Slytherins were evil, and you look about as evil as they come." Draco sighed, he should have known that the only way to get anything was to be threatening.  
  
"Listen here, you stupid git, I'm Draco Malfoy and I swear by my father's name that if you don't help me that I will curse you and your whole family. Do you really want to try your luck?" Draco smiled as the boy got a nervous look on his face and franticly looked for another student to save him.   
  
"No one's here to save you," Draco whispered to the boy. He wouldn't have been surprised if the second year had wet himself, he looked scared enough to. He tried to stand up tall and hold his stance, but when he saw Draco reach for his pocket he whispered, "S.P.E.W." to the Fat Lady, trying to keep Draco from hearing. His attempt was pointless though, because Draco heard him clear as day.   
  
The boy rushed in through the portrait hole and Draco followed him. He stopped at the entrance to the common room and scanned the room for Hermione. He saw her in a chair closest to the fire. He strode over to her and cleared his throat. She looked up at him, surprised.  
  
"How did you get in here?" she asked bluntly.  
  
"I have connections," he replied smoothly.   
  
"What I really want to know is *why* you are here."  
  
"Perhaps we can go somewhere more private?" Hermione said nothing but lead him up the stairway to the girl's dorms. She walked down the hallway at the landing to her Prefect dorm. She walked into her dorm, motioning for him to follow.   
  
"Why are you here?" Hermione asked again, taking a seat on her bed. Draco took a seat on the chair to her desk.  
  
"I have been notified that you were crying when you left my dorm. I want to know why."  
  
"You make it sound like I did something wrong."  
  
"Will you answer the question? Why were you crying?"  
  
"No one's ever said I was beautiful," she mumbled, knowing Draco couldn't hear what she had said.   
  
"I didn't quite catch that," Draco said, not letting up.  
  
"No one has ever told me that I was beautiful. Okay?" Hermione said harshly, trying to portray the thought that she didn't care if no one had ever told her it. It was evident that she did in fact care.  
  
"What?" Draco was in disbelief. Surely someone had said it to her. He didn't understand why they wouldn't. "But why did you cry?"  
  
"I was happy, you made me feel special last night. Victor Krum is the only person who made me feel like that before...but I'd rather not talk about that," she grimaced at the bad memory. One she was not about to share with Draco, no matter how much he wanted to know. He wanted to know a lot, judging by the look of his face. "I was so happy that I had to get away. Have you ever had the feeling that something was going so good that you just had to get away? The feeling where you have to get away before the moment can be ruined?" Draco shook his head no, he had never had the feeling, but he could understand what she meant.  
  
Draco got up from the chair and sat down on the bed next to Hermione. He looked into her eyes, searching. Maybe... just maybe. A spark of hope entered Draco's mind. He leaned in, about to kiss her, but then quickly pulled away. He pushed away the hope in his mind. 'I have to gain her friendship first, or I'll have no shoot with her. Kissing her right now isn't going to help anything.' Draco stood up and mumbled, "Keep studying, we have a quiz Monday," before leaving Hermione sitting on her bed, confused with resent events.   
  
'Draco almost kissed me,' she thought in shock. A week ago the thought would have been an unwelcome one, but at the moment, Hermione cherished it. 'Am I starting to like him? He's a Malfoy, I can't! But maybe...'  
  
* * * * *  
  
A/N- Thanks to Irish Lass, Mandy, EiDa, Jen Drake, S-Star, blithely-imagine and kara for reviewing! This chapter is dedicated to all of them. I'm sorry it took so long, but I promise that I'll start getting the chapters up quicker from now on. I tried to make this chapter longer, because it took longer. It's not a lot longer, but it's a start. An almost kiss! We're getting closer. Next chapter- they go flying! Oh, just so everyone who reviews knows, when you leave your email or ff.net name I email you when there's an update. If you don't want me to, just tell me. Please review! ~Kori 


	4. I Don't Like Flying

A/N- after all of the Spanish words there are their translations. The translations are not spoken; they are just there so you understand.  
  
Chapter 4- I Don't Like Flying  
  
  
Things on Monday were tense. Hermione was fighting with herself over the concept of liking Draco. Draco was (once again) worried that he had messed up things with Hermione. Harry and Ron just knew that there was something going on that they didn't know about, and they weren't happy.  
  
It was the near end of Spanish class and Hermione was confident that she had done well on the test they had just taken. She knew all of the Spanish words for once, thanks to Draco. But there was still a chance that she had messed up something, and Hermione was nervous that she wouldn't get a good grade, despite the fact that she knew what she was doing. She was trying to concentrate on the new vocabulary words that the teacher, Mrs. Stonewall, had given them, but she couldn't. Draco could tell how tense she was and wrote her a note to calm her nerves.  
  
*Hermione,  
  
Calm down, I know you did fine on the test. You knew your stuff. And how can you doubt yourself when you have a brilliant tutor like me? Meet me at 7 on the Quidditch Pitch tonight. We've got some Spanish words to learn.  
  
~Draco*  
  
Draco passed the note to Neville and nodded his head in the direction of Hermione. Neville passed it to her and thought, 'Hermione and Malfoy seem to be getting along really well. Maybe he can help me...' Neville started thinking about his own plans.   
  
As Hermione read Draco's note she started to feel better. Until she read the words 'Meet me at 7 on the Quidditch Pitch tonight.' What would they be doing on the Quidditch Pitch? They had better not be flying. 'Please don't be flying,' Hermione prayed. She was scared to death of heights. But she knew the odds of not flying were slim, since Draco tried to squeeze practice into everything. Most likely even Spanish.   
  
^Thanks. What are we doing at the pitch? ^   
  
She made it short and to the point. She hoped that Draco wouldn't think that she was scared, but that she was just curious.   
  
*Flying and studying* was the response. She gulped. Not only would they be flying, but in the dark, no less. Hermione was about write back saying that she couldn't go, but the bell rang and the classroom started to clear out. Pansy had grabbed Draco's arm and was dragging him out of the room. Hermione gathered her stuff and was about to leave the room when Mrs. Stonewall called out her name and beckoned Hermione to go to her desk.   
  
"Hermione, I was looking over your test and I can tell that you did very well. Whatever you've been doing, keep it up."  
  
Hermione mumbled her thanks and left the room. Only then did she let out an excited yelp.   
  
"What was that about?" asked Ron. Hermione hadn't noticed, but Ron and Harry had waited for her outside the classroom so they could all walk to the common room together. She gave them a big smile.   
  
"Professor Stonewall says that I did good on the test! That means Draco tutoring me has helped. Isn't this great?" Harry and Ron agreed that it was awesome. Then they noticed that her smile had faded.   
  
"What's the matter?" Harry asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I just remembered that I have a tutoring session with Draco today. So he can teach me the new vocabulary words."   
  
"What's wrong with that?" Ron said confused.  
  
"We're going flying."   
  
Both Harry and Ron said, "Oh," and they started walking to their common room. They didn't know how to comfort Hermione. They knew that one of her greatest fears was flying. They wanted to comfort her, but couldn't think of a way. No matter what they would say Hermione wouldn't feel any better or be less scared, so they said nothing.   
  
They arrived at the Fat Lady and entered the Gryffindor Tower. The three sat down to start homework. After about a half hour of studying and writing essays Harry got an idea. He could just tell Draco that Hermione didn't like heights and maybe then she wouldn't have to fly. There had to be other ways to study without actually flying. Harry got up and left. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, not knowing where he was going. They shrugged and continued their studies.  
  
Harry came back a little while later, but when his two friends questioned him about where he had went he didn't really answer their questions. He just told them that he had, "Went somewhere to do something." Ron raised his eyebrow and scowled but he didn't ask anything. Hermione followed his example and didn't ask any more questions either.   
  
By the time dinner came around she was very nervous. 'I can't do this. I can't do this,' she thought. She couldn't even eat; she just moved her food around her plate. Harry tried to get his friends to talk, but Ron was upset that Harry wouldn't tell him when he had gone, and Hermione was lost in her own thoughts. 'Just bloody great, I try to help and I just mess everything up. I hope Hermione doesn't find out that I talked to Draco about her fear. She'd get upset and that's all I need, two friends mad at me,' thought Harry.   
  
When 7 o'clock rolled around Hermione headed to the pitch. She had decided something, she wasn't going to fly. She would tell Draco about her fear if she had to, but she was not going to fly. When she arrived she saw that the pale blond boy was already there, holding a broomstick.   
  
"You won't be needing that," she said to him.   
  
"And why not?" he questioned.   
  
"I don't like flying."  
  
"Don't worry about it. Come on, we only have a couple hours out here."  
  
"I'm not going to fly. I'm...sort of scared of it," Hermione said, looking down in shame. Draco lifted her head with his hand so that she was looking at him. He handed her a vile of liquid. Hermione looked at it questioningly.   
  
"I said, don't worry." Realization dawned on he as he said this. In her hand she held a vile of Worries-Gone potion. "I kept a little when we were making it in class. Drink it." Hermione did what he said. She could instantly feel the difference. She knew she should be afraid of getting on that broom, but she wasn't.   
  
"What are we waiting for?" she asked, motioning to the broom.   
  
"Before we get on it, tell me what it is," Draco said pointing to the broom in his hand.  
  
"Palo de escoba, (Broomstick, but I hope you had already realized that)" she said. Draco smiled which made Hermione glad that she had studied before coming. Draco sat on the broom and motioned for her to do the same. She got on and put her arms around his waist. Hermione knew that she should be worried that it wouldn't be able to handle the both of them on it, but she wasn't worried at all.   
  
They lifted off and Draco left the broom levitated in the air. "Let's go over the basics. I am a buscador. (seeker) It is my job to catch the zampuzo. (snitch)" Hermione whispered "seeker" and "snitch" as he was talking. Draco continued, "Those blasted Weasley twins (Hermione punched him lightly in the guy as he said this) are batidores. (Beaters) A perseguidor (chaser) tries to make metas (goals) and the guardián (keeper) tries to stop them. Got all that?"  
  
"I think so. A seeker is a buscador, a snitch is zampuzo, and batidor is a beater. Perseguidor means chaser and metas are goals. Keeper is...uhhh...I don't remember."  
  
"It's a guardián. Think of it this way- a keeper guards the goals, and in Spanish it is guardián."   
  
"That makes sense," Hermione said.  
  
"Good. Now we are going to volar (fly) around the diapasón. (pitch) Okay?"  
  
"That's fine."  
  
Draco and Hermione were having a great time flying around in the dark, until the potion started to wear off. Neither of them had thought that this would happen. Draco had just pulled into as dive and suddenly Hermione was very scared. She tried to shout to Draco, but with the wind whipping around them he couldn't hear. She tightened her grip around Draco and prayed that everything would be all right. She almost had a heart attack. Draco was oblivious to this. He pulled out of the dive and started to rise once again. "Draco! Stop!" Hermione shouted into his ear. He stopped instantly.   
  
"What's the matter?"  
  
"The potion. It wore off." Just then Hermione realized how high up they were. Then she fainted. Draco realized that Hermione no longer had her arms around him and he watched her fall. He dived, flying as fast as he could and started to gain on her. When they were merely ten feet off the ground he caught her, only to lose his balance and tumble off his broom. Hermione fell as well and landed on her arm. Draco heard a sickening snap that told him that Hermione had broken her arm. He rose and picked up her.  
  
Hermione had awoken from the pain and realized she was being carried off the Quidditch Pitch. Then she looked down at her arm and noticed it was in a position that an arm should never be in. She fainted again, at the sight. Draco continued to carry her into the castle and to the Hospital Wing. He had a feeling that this was the last time he tutored her.   
  
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A/N- Thanks to Jen Drake, Adel, queen of the clarinets, hedwig7up, Queen Li, Phoebe, dreamer, S-Star, DragonFly-and-Farie-of-Da, Xtreme Nuisance, and Irish Lass for reviewing! A longer chapter! Yay! A longer wait. Boo. Is Hermione going to fire Draco? Is Ron going to beat up Draco? Is Snape going to run around in a pink bath robe? One and only one of these questions is answered with a yes. Now which one? Review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Then tell me which one you think will be happening in the next chapter. One last thing to ponder- why does Neville need Draco's help? And will he get it? ~Kori 


	5. Ron hit you?

Chapter 5 - Ron hit you?  
  
  
Just when Draco thought it could get no worse, it did. Draco may have been Snape's prized pupil, but that didn't change the fact that Snape was sadistic. Besides, in his mind, it was his responsibility to make sure that Draco turned to the light side. Snape knew what it was like to be a confused boy hoping to gain power no matter what it took. He also knew that all it took was one girl to put a boy back on the right track  
  
So that is why Snape gave both Draco and Hermione detentions for being out of their common rooms at night. They were given a week of detention for a week, after Hermione recovered. Draco didn't even protest, for he knew that Snape would give them more detentions. `Just bloody great, not only do I break Hermione's arm, but I get her a week of detentions with Snape as well. She's really going to hate me now,' Draco thought.   
  
When Draco made it to the infirmary Madam Pomfrey rushed over immediately and told Draco to put Hermione on one of the beds. After examining her, Madam Pomfrey confirmed Draco's suspicions by saying that Hermione's arm was indeed broken. And while all she needed was a simple spell to fix the bone the nurse still wanted Hermione to stay the night, on account of her pale skin and still being knocked out. Draco wanted to stay with her, but the nurse wouldn't hear of it and said that he could visit tomorrow morning before classes. If Hermione was better she would be released.   
  
That night was a long one for Draco. He knew Harry and Ron would blame him for Hermione's fall, which would tear him even farther away from Hermione when she fired him. Draco even blamed himself for her fall and was sure that he would be fired, with good reason. 'How could I be so stupid? I knew that she didn't want to fly and yet I still made her. I am so selfish. All I wanted was for her to be close and have her arms around me.' Draco cursed himself for being such a git.  
  
Draco dreamed that night that Hermione had fallen off the broom and Harry, always the hero, had caught her. They had walked off hand in hand leaving Draco behind with a broken heart and a broomstick.  
  
Draco woke up feeling worse than he ever had in his life. He decided two things while sitting in bed. He was going to quit Quidditch and he was going to beg Hermione for forgiveness. Draco could never forgive himself if Hermione didn't. And his dreams had made him realize that he would always be second best next to Harry. Harry would always be the one to save the day, catch the Snitch, solve the mystery. Why should Draco bother if he was never going to be number one? He knew that Malfoys didn't give up, but what was the point to fighting a losing battle?   
  
Draco got dressed and went down to the common room and found Blaise Zabini (the new captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team) and told her that he was quitting the team. She didn't take it very well, so Draco just left her standing there.   
  
He then went to the Great Hall for a piece of toast before going to see Hermione. Little did he know that he would have a hard time *seeing* her. When Draco got to the Great Hall he heard his name being called. By Harry. 'Lets get this over with,' Draco thought. He made his way over to the Gryffindor table.   
  
"What happened to Hermione?" Harry asked.  
  
"She fell off the broom," Draco explained.   
  
"Just be a little more careful next time," Harry said. 'Next time?' Draco's mind screamed excitedly. 'Harry seems to think there'll be a next time!' Draco let himself hope for a moment before shutting it out.  
  
"I will," Draco said and started to walk away. He failed to see Ron getting up to reach from some jam a few feet to his left and Draco tripped over him, smashing his face into the corner of the table. (A/N- I couldn't bring myself to have Ron really beat Draco up, so this will have to do)  
  
Draco could feel the bruise already forming at his eye. He had to keep it shut to keep it from hurting more than it already did. He pulled himself up from the floor and looked around the Great Hall with his good eye. The entire room was laughing at him, with the exception of Ron, Harry, and a few first and second years that were afraid of him. Even Crabbe and Goyle were laughing; they had disowned him after he had started spending time with Hermione, or "the Mudblood" as they called her.  
  
Draco left the Great Hall without his toast and headed to the infirmary. When he got there he went directly to Hermione's bed. She was awake and propped up, reading a book. When she saw Draco she gasped. "How did you get a black eye?" she asked before he had a chance to see how she was going.  
  
"I didn't see Ron there, and-"  
  
"Ron hit you!? I'm going to have a talk with him!" Hermione said, cutting Draco off. She was so loud Madam Pomfrey walked over to see what all the commotion was about.   
  
"What happened to you Mr. Malfoy?" she asked, examining his eye.   
  
"Like I was telling Hermione, I *tripped* over Ron Weasley and hit the table in the Great Hall."   
  
"Oh," was Hermione's reply. She felt bad accusing he best friend of hitting Draco.   
  
"Can you do anything for it?" Draco asked.  
  
"I can make the swelling go down, but I can't get rid of the black eye itself. I'm sorry." Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and Draco was able to open his eye again, but it still hurt a bit.   
  
"Is Hermione allowed to leave?" Draco asked.   
  
"Yes, I believe she is all better. Will you bring her to her common room for me?"  
  
"Of course." Hermione got out of bed and Draco understood why they were going to the Gryffindor tower, she was now wearing pajamas. She grabbed her cloak and clothes from her beside table and thanked the nurse. Then Draco and Hermione started walking towards the Gryffindor tower. Hermione was thankful that if was still breakfast and that no one was in the corridors. As it was she was already embarrassed to be in her pajamas in front of Draco.   
  
"I'll understand when you fire me, but I'd really like your forgiveness," Draco said, surprising Hermione.   
  
"Fire you? You mean from being my tutor? Why would I do such a thing?" Hermione asked, not understanding what he meant.  
  
"It's my fault that you broke your arm. I shouldn't have made you fly. I just thought…"  
  
"First of all, it's not your fault. You didn't make me fly, I had a choice, and I had a great time. When I woke up in the infirmary my arm was fine, so no real harm was done."  
  
"It was my fault," Draco insisted. "Do you forgive me?"  
  
Hermione knew that she couldn't change Draco's mind, so she just said, "Of course."  
  
"Thanks." Hermione realized how close to Draco she was. She could feel the warmth of his body on her arm. Taking advantage of the fact that they were all alone Hermione said to Draco, "I feel a little faint, it must be the medicine I was given to keep the pain away."  
  
"Do you want me to take you back to the nurse?"   
  
"No, I just need a little help walking to the tower." Hermione leaned on Draco and he instinctively put his arm around her waist, supporting some of her weight. Hermione smiled to herself. She could get used to this.  
  
"This might not be the best time to say this," Draco started. "But we have detention with Snape starting tonight."  
  
"Okay," Hermione. She could handle one detention from Snape.  
  
"For a week," Draco continued.  
  
"Just bloody great. And I was even starting to get better at Spanish. A week of detentions isn't going to help me much."  
  
"Maybe I can work it so I can help you during detention. I'll talk to Snape."  
  
"Okay," Hermione said thankfully. Draco was relived that Hermione didn't seem mad about the detentions. But he knew that might change when they actually had the detentions.   
  
They walked for a few more minutes and found themselves in front of the Fat Lady. "Do you think you could wait in the common room while I get changed?" Hermione asked.   
  
"Sure."  
  
They entered the common room and Hermione walked up the stairs to her dorm and got changed as quickly as possible, because she didn't want to be late for her first class. Draco waited for her and thought excitedly about the fact that she wasn't going to fire him. Dennis Creevey came in and started talking to Draco about him quitting the Quidditch team. 'News sure does travel fast,' thought Draco. Draco didn't mind Dennis, because he and his brother seemed to annoy Harry a lot. That put then in Draco's good book. 'Harry didn't laugh at you today. You have to remember that. Soon you might have to become friends with him, seeing as everyone else is disowning me,' Draco thought miserably. They talked for five or ten minutes and didn't notice that Hermione had changed and came down.   
  
"You quit Quidditch?" Hermione ask angrily. Dennis took his cue and left Draco to fend for himself.   
  
"Yeah," Draco said, as if it didn't matter as much as it really did.  
  
"Does this have anything to do with me?"  
  
"A little, you see-" Hermione didn't let him finish.   
  
"I want you to be back on the team by tonight. I'm not going to be the reason Slytherin has no Seeker. That's just what I need, the guilt that you quit the team because of me." And with that, Hermione stormed out of the common room. 'Just bloody great,' thought Draco, getting up to go to his first class. Then he realized that he had quoted Hermione and he sighed, because he couldn't help the smile that was on his lips.   
  
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A/N- Thanks a million to clumsygirl2456, S-Star, Queen Li, Tracy, DragonFly-and-Farie-of-Da, Irish Lass, Jen Drake, queen of the clarinets and hedwig7up for reviewing! Tell me if I forgot anyone. I'me so sorry that it took so long to update and that this is such a lame chapter. I'll try harder on the next chapter. Maybe to spice things up I'll have Snape in a pink bathrobe next chapter. And like I said above, I couldn't have Ron beat up Draco, I would just feel too bad. Happy Readings and Good Day! ~Kori 


	6. AN

A/N- I am terribly sorry to say that I will not be continuing this fanfic. I've lost all of my inspiration, and I just don't have the heart to finish this story. Anyone wanting to adopt it, go for it. I'm so sorry! ~Kori 


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